03/29/2015VATICANPope: Holy Week, God’s way is humility, it is Jesus’ way, and “we will take this path”During Palm Sunday Mass, which begins Holy Week, Pope Francis cited the example of people “who, in silence and hiddenness, sacrifice themselves daily to serve others: a sick relative, an elderly person living alone, a disabled person . . .” He also cited today’s martyrs, persecuted because of their faith, a “cloud of witnesses”. Palm Sunday also marks the celebration of the 30th World Youth Day. Deacons of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions provided the service to the pope and the altar. The pope called on young people to come in pilgrimage to Krakow in 2016. He also mentioned the victims of the plane crash in the French Alps.Vatican City (AsiaNews) – During “This week, Holy Week, which leads us to Easter, we will take this path of Jesus’ own humiliation. Only in this way will this week be ‘holy’ for us too! [. . .] This is God’s way, the way of humility. It...

03/28/2015THAILANDAmid conversions, charity and mission, Fr Pelosin tells more stories about the Thai Churchby Adriano PelosinOne story is about a widow, Ari, her diabetic father and her conversion. In the case of Mueli and Visal, the young couple fled their native Cambodia and gave birth to a child, welcomed like Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem. In his Easter letter, Fr Adriano Pelosin, a 34-year veteran of the mission in Thailand also talks about the 25th anniversary of the Thai Missionary Institute, new ordinations, and the Thai Church’s first synod in 350 years.

03/25/2015VATICANPope: we must all pray for the Synod on the family, "the womb of human life.""The bond between the Church and the family is sacred and inviolable. The Church, as a mother, never abandons the family, even when it is disheartened, wounded, and mortified in so many ways. Not even when it falls into sin or grows distant". Twenty years since Evangelium Vitae. "When you do not earn a wage you lose your dignity! This is the drama of our time. "

03/24/2015VATICANPope: "May Holy Week will help us leave behind the temptation to be ‘Yes, but Christians...'""Do not accept the gift of God on your own terms: That is a sin, that is a poison. It poisons the soul, takes away our joy, never lets go of you". "This lukewarm soul, this being halfway Christians, ‘Yes, but Christians...'. This enthusiasm at the outset on the journey with the Lord and then becoming disgruntled, only heals gazing at the Cross, gazing at God who takes on our sins: my sin is there".

03/23/2015VATICANPope: Where there is no mercy, there is no justice, not even in the Church"When the people of God come voluntarily to ask forgiveness, to be judged" they often find vicious people "capable of trying to exploit them," they find "dealmakers" who "do not give oxygen to that soul, do not give hope" or they find "the rigid who punish in the penitent they themselves hide in their own soul".

03/22/2015VATICANPope: Offer to the "many" who want to "see Jesus" the Gospel, the Cross and the witness to our faith"Christians can become 'grains' and bear much fruit if, like Jesus, they 'lose their life' for love of God and neighbor." Again this year, Francis distributes pocket Gospels in St Peter's Square. Today is World Water Day, sponsored by the United Nations, "the waters of the planet must be adequately protected and no one should be excluded or discriminated against in the use of this right, which is a common good par excellence."

03/21/2015VATICAN-ITALYPope in Naples: "Today is the first day of spring. Pray for young people, for their future, for hope."Today's society "discards" young and old, and sees euthanasia as a solution to the ills of old age. Not only " technical euthanasia” applied with an injection, but a "hidden euthanasia", where the elderly are denied medicine, food, family affection. To prisoners: "even if we go wrong in life, the Lord never ceases to show us the way back home". To religious: "Those who gossip are like terrorists who detonate bombs that destroy themselves and everything else".

03/21/2015VATICAN - ITALYPope: in Naples, find hope in Jesus and the power to redeem a cityCorruption "stinks" !. "And a corrupt society ' stinks '! A Christian who allows corruption to enter them is not a Christian, they 'stink'!". "Those who voluntarily take the path of evil steal a piece of hope, earn a little something but steal hope from themselves, from others, from society." "We are all immigrants, children of God: children of God who has put us all on a journey, everyone." "To the criminals and all their accomplices, the Church repeats: convert to love and justice! Let yourselves be touched by the mercy of God!"

03/20/2015VATICANPope says death penalty "is unacceptable," offends the dignity of life and "contradicts God's plan"Francis writes to the President of the International Commission against the Death Penalty. For the rule of law it "represents a defeat, because it forces people to kill in the name of justice" and thus "loses all legitimacy" faced with the possibility of judicial errors. Yes to a "universal moratorium" on executions, "in view of the abolition of capital punishment." Life imprisonment "can be considered a hidden death penalty.

03/19/2015VATICANAfter two years, the pope is appreciated even from a distanceFrancis began his pontificate on the feast day of Saint John in 2013. An inspiration for world leaders like Obama, he is also appreciated by the Church's critics who love more his ways than his words, treated as slogans more than ideas. He chose Francis so that the poor be the focus. As he enters the third year of his pontificate, he will face crucial moments, like the Synod on the family but especially the Jubilee of Mercy, whose impact will be felt both within and without the Church. The same is true for his reform of the Roman Curia.

03/18/2015VATICANPope: better a society with the "trouble" of children than "sad and gray" without childrenThe "little ones" are in themselves "a treasure for humanity and for the Church", they understand God and "God has no difficulty in making Himself understood", they remind us that "we did make our own life, but we received it", so we are not the masters. "A society can be judged on how it treats its children, not only morally, but also if it is a free society or a slave to international interests".

03/18/2015ASIA - ISLAMASEAN against the Islamic state, a threat that must be neutralisedFor Singapore's defence minister, the unanimous condemnation is a significant statement. ASEAN members are committed to a policy of religious rehabilitation, including Muslim-majority nations. Meanwhile, more people are signing an open letter condemning the jihadist movement for betraying Islam.

03/17/2015VATICANPope: the Church is "Jesus' home" whose doors are always open which the Christian community cannot close How many times today, someone who has made a mistake but decides "to go" finds the doors to Christian communities closed. "But you cannot, no, you cannot [come in]. You have sinned and you cannot [come in]. If you want to come, come to Mass on Sunday, but that is it - that is all you can do.' So, what the Holy Spirit creates in the hearts of people, those Christians with the mind-set of 'doctors of the law' destroy."

VATICANPope: Christians are persecuted and the world tries to hide itDuring the Angelus, Francis prayed for the victims of today's church massacres in Pakistan. Before the Marian prayer, he said that God "loves us, really love us, and loves us very much! This is simplest expression that sums up the whole Gospel, faith, and theology. God loves us freely and boundlessly." The pontiff also spoke about typhoon victims in Vanuatu. "I pray for the dead, the wounded and the homeless. I thank all those who reacted immediately to bring relief and aid." The pope also made a plea on behalf of persecuted Christians. "May the persecution against Christians, which the world is trying to hide, come to an end, and may there be peace."

EGYPT - ISLAMWhat Tayeb and Sisi said is big step towards a revolution in Islamby Samir Khalil SamirThe grand imam of Al-Azhar slammed literalist interpretations of the Qur'an and the Sunnah, as fundamentalists and Islamic terrorists do. He supports the urgent need for Islam's reform, especially in terms of teaching lay people and clerics. He also calls for an end to mutual excommunication (takfir) between Sunnis and Shias. Egyptian President al-Sisi chose to fight the Islamic state group after it beheaded 21 Coptic Christians, whom he called "Egyptian citizens" with full rights.